Back to basics

Hi Everyone,
It's really tempting to invest your time and efforts in the latest fad. I've done and perhaps you have too.

I don't actually think that's a bad thing as long as you understand the underpinnings of what you are trying to achieve and you don't put all of your eggs into one basket.

An example of where this type of thing can cause problems is Judo's new rules about leg grabbing. For a number of years some very flashy pick-up throws have become popular to the point that they have become the favourite technique of many athletes. All of a sudden they are as good as banned leaving those that have focussed on these techniques struggling to develop effective attack methods.

For this reason good coaches train their students soundly in the basics of throwing and the basic techniques to a very high level before allowing them to get swept away with the latest fad manouvre.

Techniques are there to achieve a purpose, keep the purpose in mind, understand the basic principles that will allow you to succeed and develop a range of contingencies that are consistent with the basic principles to ensure that you don't lose out because your one technique, for whatever reason, is no longer viable.

Kind regards
Simon 'At Your Service'

Doing it now

Hi Everyone,

You know growing up our coaches would always tell us to attack 'now' when we were engaged in a tough fight.

They could see when our confidence was down, or when we were over analysing the situation. They wanted us to commit to doing something with complete effort 'now'.

I think that's a lesson that is a very important one indeed. Deciding to do it 'later' can end up with it not getting done and can breed a negative vibe as we dwell on why it might not work. It can also end up with wasting time through double handling and that's not very 'judo' now is it?

Kind regards
'Simon At Your Service'

Defence!!!

It's funny what reputations can do for business. It's just like taking on the big name player at a judo tournament. It can seem much more of a challenge just because of your perception of things.

If you are starting out with a great idea you need to consider what stories can be created about you to deter competitors. If your offering appears to be great, your product range superior, your uniform professional, and your marketing strong, you may very well put off new entrants. Keep in mind that this can be 'created' without necessarily spending a huge amount of money. We are trying to cause people to see our business in a certain way, our business may not yet be all that advanced but it's the perceptions that count.

Time to get the creative juices flowing to put up some barriers to new entrants coming to compete against you.

Kind regards
Simon 'At Your Service'